Author Archives: Bruce

McHugh Bianchi Building circa 1972, corner of Pacific and Mission streets. This grand old building set Santa Cruz aside as a City that cared and greeted everyone way back as the Hotaling Building then as Hinkle’s Cash Store. We fought … Continue reading →

DREAM INN SITE 1960. In the lower right you can just see the Municipal Wharf and the Ideal Fish Restaurant. The large dark spot in the center is where the Dream Inn was built. You can also see the original … Continue reading →

FISHING ON THE SAN LORENZO, December 8, 1940. This was back in the day before the Santa Cruz City Council’s let pollutants and developers kill off our fish. This was the opening of the steelhead season, by Murray Street on … Continue reading →

PACIFIC AVENUE DOWNTOWN SANTA CRUZ AUGUST 29, 1957. Reeve’s Shoes is now The Gap and F.W. Woolworth Co. is now Graphfix and the World Market. Is this progress? Nope, all in all we just swapped some chain stores over the … Continue reading →

THE HIHN MANSION. The “only full Italian Villa style residence ever built in Santa Cruz” (Chase.” Santa Cruz Architecture”) The 1872 residence of Frederick Augustus Hihn,. Designed by Charles A. Davis. It’s on the site of our present City Hall … Continue reading →

OLD HABIT. CITY DESTROYING GRAND HISTORIC BUILDING. Back on September 12, 1966 Santa Cruz destroyed the Carnegie City Library and built the main library we have there now. End of comment. photo credit: Covello & Covello Historical photo collection, click … Continue reading →

PROPOSED NEW WHALE RESTAURANT ON OUR WHARF. (or “Come Back Coastal Commission!!!”) Mark Gilbert who owns the Dolphin Restaurant, Gilbert’s Firefish Grill and Woodies Café all on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf wants to re-build and diminish the size of … Continue reading →

THE HUGE PROPOSED LA BAHIA. FROM BARRY SWENSON’S & CHARLIE CANFIELD’S OWN VIEW. For more than six years we’ve tried to get Barry and Charlie to scale it down, not stop building it…they haven’t listened. We’ve pointed out that it … Continue reading →

SCOTTS VALLEY 1958. That’s Camp Evers at the lower left at the intersection of Mount Herman Road and Scotts Valley Drive by the Union Station. And yes, this is before all the high tech companies came…and left. And it’s before … Continue reading →

BUILDING OUR MAIN POST OFFICE. JULY 1, 1911. Do note no Veterans Building and note the tall “Victory Pole” over by the Jamba Juice flatiron building. Those Victory Poles proved you were patriotic way back then. photo credit: photo courtesy … Continue reading →